Gov’t turns to mining to lift economy

JUL 17, 2022 11:00 AM PHT

The government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. now eyes the mining industry to be one of the major contributors to the country’s economic development.

The nation nestles on mineral assets valued at more than $.1.4 trillion, but its total land area covered by mining is only 0.872 million hectares or 2.91% of the country’s 30-million total land area.

For miners, the Philippines is the fifth most attractive among mineral-rich countries. It has the third largest deposits of gold, fourth for copper, fifth for nickel, and sixth for chromite.

To date, we have 44 mining companies – 37 of which are operating mines: six gold mines, three copper mines, and 28 nickel mines – as well as 65 non-metallic mining companies. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has been tasked to undertake audits to ascertain that each company adheres to strict environmental standards. These miners have to be

ISO14001-certified with Australian and Canadian standards being the reference points, as designated by former President Rodrigo Duterte.